Workshops, planning, plying, oh my!

Next Saturday I am teaching a drop spindle workshop for our guild.  It's a good deal for all involved.  Back in September I received a scholarship to attend the Abby Franquemont "Spinning for a Purpose" workshop at the Taos Wool Festival in New Mexico.  A condition of the scholarship is that I share the knowledge gained with the guild. I can do this a variety of ways -- but I chose to repay my scholarshop by offering guild members a spinning workshop.  While there are a lot of spinners in our guild, there are not a lot of members who work with a drop (or suspended) spindle. 

It's a four-hour workshop designed for people who already know how to spin, but don't know -- or want to know more -- about tricks and techniques that make spindle spinning functional and fun.

As a result of that commitment, I've been unable to get my head into a new project.  Believe it or not, my commuter knitting has been limited to a few rows here and there on UFO's.  The rest of my time and brain has been devoted to getting the materials prepared for the workshop. 

It's no small feat.  I know I could just buy all the fibre I need for the workshop and be done with it, but somewhere along my development as a fibre artist, I made a commitment to using locally sourced fibres.  So, in the absence of a local fibre mill to process all the stuff, I am the processor.  I've been drum carding and combing local dorset, montadale, romney and alpaca so folks in my workshop have a variety of fibres and preparations to experiment with.

I think I am all ready for the workshop -- I'll do another run-though tomorrow -- now I can relax and spin.  That's what I have here -- I'm plying the "July" fibre from the Sweet Georgia Yarns fibre club.  Beautiful oranges and pinks.

I split the braid in two.  Spun the singles very fine and am now plying them with a lot of twist.  My  plan is to re-ply it and make a cabled yarn.

Stay tuned.  There's lots of hockey on tv tonight so I may very well get this done.